The South African Weather Service issued a Yellow Level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms on Monday. The warning covers most of KwaZulu-Natal and the extreme northern parts of the Eastern Cape.
The weather service said the storms could bring heavy downpours, damaging winds, hail and lightning. Only the extreme north-east of KwaZulu-Natal falls outside the warning area.
According to the weather service, the storms could cause localised flooding. They could also damage infrastructure and settlements in the affected areas.
A separate Yellow Level 1 warning was issued for damaging winds. It covers the western parts of the Free State and the extreme eastern parts of the Northern Cape.
The weather service said these winds could cause damage to settlements and farm production. Falling trees and dust storms could also affect roads and travel services.
In KwaZulu-Natal, morning fog patches were forecast over the interior. Conditions were expected to be partly cloudy and cool to warm, but hot in parts of the north.
The eastern half of the Eastern Cape was expected to be cloudy and cool, turning cold in some areas. Scattered showers and thunderstorms were forecast there.
The western half of the province was forecast to be warm in the north and cloudy and cool elsewhere. Isolated showers and rain were expected along the coast and nearby interior.
The Free State was expected to be windy and warm to hot, with isolated showers and thundershowers. Scattered showers were forecast in the extreme east and along the Lesotho border.
The Northern Cape was forecast to be windy and hot, but warm in the extreme south. Isolated afternoon showers were expected in the east.
Gauteng was expected to be partly cloudy and warm to hot. Isolated afternoon showers were forecast in the south, and the UVB sunburn index was high.
In Mpumalanga, isolated showers were expected over the eastern and southern Highveld. The Lowveld was forecast to be hot to very hot.
Limpopo was expected to stay fine and hot to very hot, with no real rain in the forecast. North West was forecast to be windy and hot, with isolated showers.
The Western Cape was expected to be cloudy, with isolated showers and rain in the south and nearby eastern interior. The rest of the province was forecast to be fine and warm.
The weather service gave a 60% chance of rain over parts of the eastern interior. The same chance applied to sections of the south-eastern and southern coastline.
A 30% chance of showers was given for parts of the central and southern interior.
Despite the rain, extremely high fire danger conditions were forecast for North West, most of the Free State and Limpopo. The central, eastern and western parts of the Northern Cape were also affected.
Places in western KwaZulu-Natal also faced extremely high fire danger. Residents in these areas were urged to be careful where hot, dry and windy weather could help fires spread.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL. Image: IOL. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.